Metal-pouring apparatus for a smelting furnace

ABSTRACT

Metal-pouring apparatus for a smelting furnace in which a liquid metal pump is placed in a bath of the molten metal, arranged to pump the molten metal into a funnel on the front of the smelter. An elongated channel is pivotally supported at one end beneath the funnel mouth for movement in a horizontal arc about the pivot support. A semicircular platform arrangement supports a plurality of molds in several semicircular rows around the front of the furnace centered on the channel pivot point. The channel is extendible or retractable in length to pour first one row of the molds and then another with pivotable movement of the channel. The pouring apparatus is portable so that is can be moved from one smelting furnace to another for pouring several furnaces in succession.

D United States Patent 1111 3,631,615

[72] Inventor Arthur L. Perry 3,048,384 8/1962 Sweeney et ill. 266/38 4387 East 175th St., Cleveland, Ohio 1,666,910 4/1928 Poske 164/322 X I A l N 33 3 6 FOREIGN PATENTS {3 fi 29 1969 480,387 2/1938 Great Britain 164/130 a [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 1,351,801 12/1963 France 164/266 Primary Examiner-Robert D. Baldwin Attorney-Oberlin, Maky, Donnelly & Renner [54] METAL-POURING APPARATUS FOR A SMELTING FURNACE 6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs. ABSTRACT: Metal-pouring apparatus for a smelting furnace 52] U 8 Cl 4/266 in which a liquid metal pump is placed in a bath of the molten 8;, 266/38 metal, arranged to pump the molten metal into a funnel on the 151 1m.c1 B226 35/04 fmm e'mgated Chane is pimtal'y 501 Field 6: Search 164/266, bemh fume 270, 322, 323 130, 266/38 a honzontal are about the p1vot support. A sem1c1rcular platform arran ement sup orts a luralrt of molds 1n several 3 P P Y [56] References Ci d semicircular rows around the front of the furnace centered on UNITED STATES PATENTS the channel p1vot point. The channel is extendlble or retracta- 442 925 19 3 D ble in length to pour first one row of the molds and then 1/ e i 266/38 UX another with pivotable movement of the channel.

2 12; g' 266/38); The pouring apparatus is portable so that is can be moved uppes 164/32 from one smelting furnace to another for pouring several fur- 1,421,374 7/1922 Bagnell..... 266/38 aces in succession 2,893,081 7/1959 Gerster 164/322 4s 54 2e E--- 8 r METAL-POURING APPARATUS FOR A SMELTING FURNACE DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to improvements in metal pouring, and in particular to apparatus for pouring molten metal from a smelting furnace.

The invention is particularly applicable to an aluminum smelter and will be described with reference thereto, although it will become apparent that the invention has other applicatrons.

Smelting furnaces are employed to obtain metals from their ores, and also for remelting scrap such as aluminum foundry dross and floor sweepings. The smelters are generally of the reverberatory furnace type, and in the case of remelting aluminum, are relatively moderate in size, for instance about 4 feet in height, and somewhat greater in dimension in width and length; although a typical aluminum smelter can pour as much as 100,000 pounds of metal at one time, or more. They may be provided with a loading door in the front, and burners on opposite sides. Up until recently, they have been poured by means of gravity flow from the furnace zone, tapping off either into ingot molds placed beneath a pouring spout, or into large molds or sows brought one by one over to the smelter. In the latter case, the poured molds are very heavy, in the order of 1,000 pounds or more a piece after pouring, and accordingly motorized lift trucks were required to move the molds.

A recent improvement in molten metal transfer from smelters has been the development of a pump which is capable of pumping the molten metal. This pump is placed in the furnace in the bottom of a bath of the metal and is driven by a motor which is elevated above the bath and connected to the pump through an elongated drive shaft, the flow from the pump being into sows placed in front of the smelter. Still, in the case of pouring into heavy sows or large molds, the sows or molds continued to be brought over one by one to the smelter. This obviously entailed a considerable expense in labor and equipment. Between tapping off into each mold, it was necessary to stop and start the pump. it is apparent that a substantial period of time was expended in each pouring of the smelter, perhaps as much as 12 hours, or a shift and a half, for pouring about 32 molds or sows; during which time the smelter was essentially out of operation; and during which time men, and equipment, such as a lift truck, were tied up.

In addition moving the sows immediately after pouring had a tendency to cause the formation of air pockets in the ingots after solidification.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to reduce labor and equipment cost in pouring molten metal from a furnace, in particular a smelting furnace.

It is also an object of the present invention to reduce the pouring time with each loading required to pour molten metal from such a furnace.

It is further an object of the invention to provide an improved pouring apparatus which is portable and which can be employed with several smelting furnaces in succession; i.e. which can be used with one smelter while the others are being charged, or are in a stage of the smelting operation other than pouring.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

In such annexed drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view illustrating a smelting furnace and pouring apparatus in accordance with the concepts of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a smelting furnace 12 having a front side 14 and a roof 16. The furnace is a conventional reverberatory furnace. It is loaded with either metal ores or a variety of scrap metal, and if desired alloys for the scrap.

Across the front 14 of the furnace, there is constructed an open top well 18 having an upright front wall 20 and side walls 22 and 24 (FIG. 2). When it is desired to pour from the furnace, molten metal is allowed to flow from the furnace into the well 18 by opening a pair of gates not shown between the furnace and well, establishing a liquid level L" in the well. A molten metal pump 26 is placed in the bottom of the well in the bath of the metal. This pump is provided with a motor 28 connected to the pump by an elongated drive shaft means 30 which holds the motor at an elevation above the metal. The pump also is provided with a U-shaped elongated pipe 32 which extends from the pump upwardly over the upper edge of the front wall 20, the pipe terminating in a short downwardly extending section 34.

In accordance with the present invention, a funnel 36 is positioned adjacent to the front face of the wall 20 and the well 18, at an elevation about two-thirds of the distance from the bottom of the well, the pipe section 34 extending downwardly into the funnel. The funnel is provided with a mouth 38.

An open top channel 42 is placed beneath the funnel mouth pivotably supported at one end adjacent the furnace on a pivot bracket 44. The pivot bracket in turn is secured to a chairlike support 46 which is placed against the front side of the wall 20, dimensioned to locate the pivot center 45 of the bracket close to the furnace. By means of the pivot bracket, the channel 42 can be swung in a horizontal arc around the front of the furnace on an axis which coincides with the centerline of the funnel mouth. The funnel 36 is also supported by the chairlike support 46 by bracket means 47.

The particular bracket elements supporting the channel are a pair of posts 48 which permit pivotable movement of the channel in a vertical plane, to raise or lower the end 50 of the channel remote from the furnace, although vertical adjustment of the channel is not essential.

In front of the furnace, arranged in a semicircular arc around the front, are four platforms 52 which can be seated on the floor of the building housing the furnace. The platforms are sized and constructed to support a large number of molds or sows 54 arranged, in the example illustrated, in four semicircular rows around the front of the furnace. Each row may contain from 30 to 50 molds, or as few as about eight. The platforms are located so that the radii of the rows intersect with the pivot center of the channel 42 as established by the pivot bracket assembly.

The end 50 of the channel which is remote from the furnace is extendible by means of several sections 56 which can be added onto or removed from the channel. The sections can be held in place by means of snaps or bolts or other means not shown. The sections are open at the ends thereof, and it is apparent that with the three sections in place as shown, the outermost semicircular row of molds can be poured, by pivoting the channel in its arc around the front of the furnace. By removing the end section, the next innermost semicircular row of molds is poured, the operation being repeated until all the molds are poured.

The channel 42 is also supported, in addition to the pivot bracket 44, by means of a support post 58 which is adapted to travel on a semicircular rail 60, the latter also being arranged in front of the furnace concentric with the arrangement of platforms. The post 58 may be extendible to raise or lower the end 50 of the channel remote from the furnace.

It is a feature of the invention that the pouring apparatus can be moved from one smelting furnace to another and employed for pouring one furnace while the other furnaces are being charged or operated at a stage of the smelting process other than pouring. To achieve this, each of the platforms 52 is foldable by means of hinges 62 for easy transportation from one furnace to another. The rail 60 is also movable. In addition, the support 46 which supports the pivot bracket assembly is not fastened to the furnace front and is easily movable from one smelter or furnace to another. It is a simple matter to disengage the channel 42 from the pivot bracket assembly for this purpose. The construction of the chairlike support 46 is such that it can be braced against the front face of the fumace well 18, and still adequately supports the channel without special fastening means.

Instead of extending or retracting the channel 42 by adding or subtracting sections, this can be accomplished by telescop ing the channel, or by providing radially spaced openings which can be opened or closed, or by other means. In addition, the channel 42 can be supported by means of an overhead block tackle and track mechanism, than by the support post 58 and rail 60. Also, the concepts of the invention are clearly applicable to a gravity flow smelter, in addition to the pump flow smelter shown.

Connections 64 are employed to pull the channel 42 from one side to the other.

The advantages of the invention should be apparent. In particular, a smelting furnace can be poured much more quickly by the present invention then the conventional method used, namely, pouring the molds or sows one by one interrupting the flow for each mold. The pour time for about 32 sows from a smelter may be reduced, as an example, from perhaps about 12 hours (a shift and a half) to about 1% hours. In addition, there is clearly a substantial savings in labor and equipment costs. In particular, a lift truck or other means is not tied up for the shift and a half or 12-hour pour time, and may be required only for a short period of time to position the pouring apparatus in front of the furnace to be poured, and to position and remove the molds or sows on and from the platforms 52. As a further advantage, the sows or molds can be allowed to sit and the molten metal to harden before moving to avoid the formation of air pockets in the poured ingots.

1 claim:

1. A molten metal transfer and pouring apparatus for pouring molten metal from multiple reverberatory furnaces each of the type having an open top well across the front thereof, the well having a front face and being capable of hold molten metal therein, comprising an elongated troughlike channel;

a bracket assembly for supporting said channel comprising an upright back, leg means arranged to brace said back against the front face of the furnace well without special fastening means, pivot means supported by said leg means intermediate the upper and lower extremities of the bracket assembly, funnel supports means at approximately the elevation of the upper extremity of the bracket assembly, and funnel means supported by the funnel support means, the latter supporting the funnel means so that the lower opening thereof is approximately above said pivot means;

means on one end of said channel for removably engaging said pivot means;

auxiliary support means for the channel intermediate the ends of the channel, the channel having sufficient length to require said auxiliary support means; and

pump means for pumping molten. metal from the furnace well into said funnel means, the channel pouring at least one row of semicircular arranged molds on pivot of the channel about the bracket assembly pivot means.

2. The apparatus of claim wherein said channel is extendible or retractable in length to permit pouring multiple semicircular arranged rows of molds.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of platforms which are foldable and movable from one furnace to another for supporting the molds.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 including a plurality of short channel sections, and means to add or subtract said sections from the end of the channel.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said auxiliary support means is in the form of a leg including roller means at the bottom end thereofto rrnit said auxiliag support means to travel In a semlcircu ar path with pivo movement of said channel on the bracket assembly.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said funnel support means is a bracket connected to the bracket assembly back at the upper extremity thereof. 

1. A molten metal transfer and pouring apparatus for pouring molten metal from multiple reverberatory furnaces each of the type having an open top well across the front thereof, the well having a front face and being capable of holding molten metal therein, comprising an elongated troughlike channel; a bracket assembly for supporting said channel comprising an upright back, leG means arranged to brace said back against the front face of the furnace well without special fastening means, pivot means supported by said leg means intermediate the upper and lower extremities of the bracket assembly, funnel supports means at approximately the elevation of the upper extremity of the bracket assembly, and funnel means supported by the funnel support means, the latter supporting the funnel means so that the lower opening thereof is approximately above said pivot means; means on one end of said channel for removably engaging said pivot means; auxiliary support means for the channel intermediate the ends of the channel, the channel having sufficient length to require said auxiliary support means; and pump means for pumping molten metal from the furnace well into said funnel means, the channel pouring at least one row of semicircular arranged molds on pivot of the channel about the bracket assembly pivot means.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said channel is extendible or retractable in length to permit pouring multiple semicircular arranged rows of molds.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of platforms which are foldable and movable from one furnace to another for supporting the molds.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 including a plurality of short channel sections, and means to add or subtract said sections from the end of the channel.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said auxiliary support means is in the form of a leg including roller means at the bottom end thereof to permit said auxiliary support means to travel in a semicircular path with pivotal movement of said channel on the bracket assembly.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said funnel support means is a bracket connected to the bracket assembly back at the upper extremity thereof. 